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AL rally in city marking one-year rule

People to judge, but we took prompt decisions: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday made a fervent call to the Opposition political parties and the people irrespective of class and profession to work together with the common objective of changing the lot of toiling masses.
"Let’s work in unison to change the lot of the poverty-stricken people of our country. Let's shape our future in a better way." Hasina said at a public rally arranged in front of the Jatiya Press Club marking completion of one-year of Awami League government.
The Prime Minister, who is also President of the ruling Awami League, gave a brief resume of the one-year governance by her party and said. "We want to establish basic rights of the people, we want to live up to peoples' aspirations.''
Sheikh Hasina said over the last 21 years, the number of unemployed, those below povertyline and the landless increased but the rate of literacy did not increase.
The Prime Minister said her
government is trying to bring about economic development and taken steps to ensure security in public life. "People will judge what we did in past year. But. at least I can say that we did not delay in taking decisions."
She mentioned that steps were taken to draw foreign investment and that flow of investment into the country had already started.
She said that her government discussed all issues of national importance in the parliament and always welcomed participation of the Opposition in debates on policy issues.
The Prime Minister mentioned her government's steps in last one year for development of agriculture and healthcare facilities. She said the
price of fertilizer was raised to check smuggling of fertilizer to India.
The Prime Minister said the proposed budget for 1997-98 financial year gave the highest allocation to the education sector to remove illiteracy. She also spoke about steps proposed in the new budget for giving allowances to elderly people and jobs for unemployed youths. She also mentioned the steps taken for establishing rule of law, strengthening the rural economy.
Sheikh Hasina said. Bangladesh is no longer identified in the outside world as a country of famine, turmoil, poverty and natural calamities.
She recalled people's struggle for democracy, and paid tribute to the martyrs of democratic movement. "Days of taking power through bullets instead of ballots are over now."
Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad. LG RD and Cooperatives Minister and AL general secretary Zillur Rahman, Water Resources Minister Abdur Razzak. Commerce and Industries Minister Tofael Ahmed. Post and Telecommunications Minister Mohammed Nasim. Food and Agriculture Minister Begum Motia Chowdhury, AL presidium member Amir Hussain Amu. Prime Minister's Parliamentary Affairs Advisor Suranjit Sen-
gupta, Dhaka city Mayor and city AL president Mohammed Hanif. and party leaders. Abdul Jalil. Mozaffar Hussain Paltu, Shamsur Rahman Khan Shah-jahan. Dr Mostafa Jalal Mohi-uddin and Mofazzal Hussain Chowdhury Maya also addressed the rally, conducted by Abdul Mannan.
In his speech, Abdus Samad Azad briefly said the government's 'economic diplomacy' has yielded results. The proposed sub-regional grouping involving four South Asian countries has been appreciated by other countries including Saudi Arabia, he said.
Abdur Razzak said that signing of the Ganges water sharing treaty ushered in a new era of development in various fields.
Tofael Ahmed said that over the last one year. 121 foreign firms came for investment in the country. Their total investment would be Tk 6,000 crore, he added.
The industries minister said. Tk 2.200 crore bank loan was disbursed during BNP rule against 383 industrial units. But. of those, 136 units were fake. He alleged that the BNP government had made Bangladesh a market of Indian goods. In the name of trade liberalisation, the BNP government had withdrawn restriction on the import of 386 items from India within two years of its coming to power.